Nonfiction That Sings

By Miranda Paul

If you asked kid Miranda what she was going to be when she grew up, she wouldn’t have said author. I liked science, outdoors, trivia, school, and music. Oh, how I loved to sing and dance.

It took me several decades to figure out a way to combine all the things I loved, though. But writing nonfiction books that sing is that combination—and a true joy for me.

In my years as a teacher, I’d watch colleagues teach historical events or particular facts by introducing a lyric or clever wordplay (such as a mnemonic device) to enhance learning. It made sense; human brains are wired to respond to patterns of syllables and stresses, consistent rhythms, and chunked or connective images. Earworms that pop into our brain are often lyrics or songs rather than well-loved paragraphs from an encyclopedia. We even remember annoying jingles from TV ads with surprising accuracy for decades,

Translated into writer terms, the picture book—a combination of brief, carefully crafted words set to symbolic and connective images—can be the perfect vessel for imparting information to a child that makes them think, feel, or remember something for a long while. So it’s not surprising that when I’m writing nonfiction, I try to make it “sing.” Here are some of the ways I achieve that goal.

Add rhythm or rhyme

Not everyone’s a rhymer, and that’s OK. If you’re going to rhyme, visit the ample rhyming resources out there, especially Dori Chaconas’s “Icing on the Cake.” As Dori points out, it’s not just good rhyme that makes a difference, it’s the meter—or patterned rhythm—that delivers a smooth and fun read aloud. Beginners might try using an established or familiar structure to give yourself a better chance to stay consistent in meter. Using a set structure can give you the opportunity to turn your books—or parts of them—into actual songs, as was done for my book Water is Water.

WATER IS WATER Song YouTube video

 

Include a chorus

Most songs have a chorus. In a children’s book, a chorus might just be a repeating word or phrase. In Speak Up, the title phrase is the repeating refrain—these two words occur before the last line on each page that imparts the value and impact of speaking up.

SPEAK UP! spread - art by Ebony Glenn

SPEAK UP! spread - art by Ebony Glenn

 

Even books that don’t rhyme can have a chorus or repeating refrain. In One Plastic Bag, the repetition of lines such as “Then two. Then ten. Then a hundred.” quantifies how a problem builds or a solution spreads.

 

Spread from ONE PLASTIC BAG; art by Elizabeth Zunon

Use poetic comparisons

As nonfiction writers, it’s easy to get stuck in research and encyclopedia modes. We’re concerned with the precise language of the topic, and rightly so. But finding creative ways to deliver and explain that information becomes our job as artists and nonfiction communicators. Similes and metaphors are two literary devices in which one thing is compared to another to provide an effect.

In my upcoming book, Beyond: Discoveries from the Outer Reaches of Space (Lerner/Millbrook, April 2021), chunks of frozen rock and dust are referred to as “frigid glitter” and the comets or “icy bodies” in the Oort Cloud are compared to zooming traffic headed in different directions. A Black hole, its accretion disk, and spouting jets get compared to a wild amusement park ride. The Helix Nebula is compared to a “glowing, glaring eyeball of ash.” Introducing these interstellar phenomena with poetry helped me create the right read-aloud feel—a journey of intrigue and drama—so that a child is enticed to learn even more beyond the images and words here.

 

Give words weight

When we’re passionate about a topic, it’s easy to overwrite or dump information into a story. But the shorter the text, the more weight each word can carry. When a work is stripped to its most important elements, phrases and “one-liners” have the opportunity to shine and elicit significant emotion, just like those famous song lines we recite by heart. For those who are writing lyrical science or historical books, try putting terms that don’t roll off the tongue into titles, headers, captions, sidebars, or back matter—a strategy I used in Beyond so the images could shine.

 

Spread from BEYOND; art by Sija Hong (not final)

Spread from BEYOND; art by Sija Hong (not final)

Another way to give words more weight is to lean on auditory devices such as assonance, consonance, alliteration, and onomatopoeia. These sound devices were ones that my co-author Baptiste Paul and I leaned heavily on while writing our book PEACE. The result? A book filled with takeaways and one-liners.

 

Spread from PEACE; art by Estelí Meza

 

Take the reader with you

 When we’re writing, often we’re swept up in the research and story as well as our adult sensibilities. Remember to take that reader with you, too.

When writing Nine Months: Before a Baby is Born, I pull in young listeners by appealing to all five senses.

Spread from NINE MONTHS; art by Jason Chin

 

When writing the picture book biography Little Libraries, Big Heroes, the narrator uses a casual tone and speaks in second person to directly address the reader in an ending invitation to become part of the story.

 

Spread from LITTLE LIBRARIES, BIG HEROES; art by John Parra

From focusing on a relatable experience to infusing humor or interactive elements, our most important job is to make sure we take child readers along with us on the nonfiction journey.

Activating a rhythm, rhyme, or repetition carries the tune. Poetic language offers clever wit or heartfelt emotion. Interactive or relatable elements allow the reader to make your words their own. Combined, a good nonfiction book produces a learning experience with a lasting and emotional connection, just like a great song. So put that record on repeat, and let’s dance.

 

ACTIVITY:

Miranda Paul’s action items for nonfiction that sings:

1. Add rhythm or rhyme: Type out the words to a favorite song or nursery rhyme. Change the words to fit your nonfiction subject or topic.

2. Include a chorus - Scan your manuscript to find words or phrases that appear more than once. Ask yourself, are they repeated regularly or randomly?

3. Use poetic comparisons - Identify three words or concepts from your research that might be tricky for a child to understand or whose sound sticks out in a clunky way.

4. Give words weight - One line at a time, sing your manuscript out loud.

5. Take the reader with you - Write a section of your book in 2nd person POV.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Miranda Paul is an award-winning author of more than a dozen books for children. She has received starred reviews and Junior Library Guild distinction for titles including One Plastic Bag, Water is Water, I Am Farmer, Nine Months, and Little Libraries, Big Heroes. Her editorial debut, Thanku: Poems of Gratitude, was a 2020 ALA Notable title. Miranda’s 2021 titles include Peace, coauthored with Baptiste Paul (NorthSouth Books), Beyond: Discoveries from the Outer Reaches of Space (Millbrook), and Right Now: Real Kids Speak Up for Change (Clarion). Miranda is also a co-founding member of We Need Diverse Books. More at MirandaPaul.com.